US8724317B2 - Apparatus pertaining to a deployable keyboard and corresponding bottom surface - Google Patents
Apparatus pertaining to a deployable keyboard and corresponding bottom surface Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US8724317B2 US8724317B2 US13/532,113 US201213532113A US8724317B2 US 8724317 B2 US8724317 B2 US 8724317B2 US 201213532113 A US201213532113 A US 201213532113A US 8724317 B2 US8724317 B2 US 8724317B2
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- housing
- keyboard
- deployed configuration
- tray
- move
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
- H04M1/23—Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
- G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
- G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
- G06F1/1615—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function
- G06F1/1624—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function with sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
- G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
- G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
- G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
- G06F1/1662—Details related to the integrated keyboard
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
- H04M1/0202—Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets
- H04M1/0206—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings
- H04M1/0208—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings characterized by the relative motions of the body parts
- H04M1/0235—Slidable or telescopic telephones, i.e. with a relative translation movement of the body parts; Telephones using a combination of translation and other relative motions of the body parts
- H04M1/0237—Sliding mechanism with one degree of freedom
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2223/00—Casings
- H01H2223/04—Casings portable; hand held
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2223/00—Casings
- H01H2223/046—Casings convertible
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2223/00—Casings
- H01H2223/058—Casings flush mounted
Definitions
- the present disclosure relates to electronic devices and more particularly to keyboards.
- Keyboards are typically comprised of a plurality of keycaps (such as depressible buttons, touch-sensitive surfaces, and so forth) that permit a user to selectively enter any of a variety of alphanumeric characters and/or to input corresponding instructions or selections.
- keycaps such as depressible buttons, touch-sensitive surfaces, and so forth
- Two common examples in these regards are the so-called QWERTY keyboard and the so-called telephone keypad.
- Small portable communication devices such as so-called smartphones
- a keyboard To minimize the device's footprint those keyboards are sometimes disposed on a lower plane than the device's display. In these cases the display and the keyboard sometimes slide parallel to one another to bring the keyboard into a deployed position.
- the keyboard comprises two or more multi-row segments that pivot in a planar fashion with respect to one another to permit the keyboard segments to be stored, again parallel to the device's display, as a stack of planar members within the device.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view in accordance with the disclosure.
- FIG. 2 is a side-elevational schematic view in accordance with the disclosure.
- FIG. 3 is a side-elevational schematic view in accordance with the disclosure.
- FIG. 4 is a perspective schematic view in accordance with the disclosure.
- FIG. 5 is a side-elevational schematic view in accordance with the disclosure.
- FIG. 6 is a perspective schematic view in accordance with the disclosure.
- FIG. 7 is a side-elevational schematic view in accordance with the disclosure.
- FIG. 8 is a block diagram in accordance with the disclosure.
- the following describes an apparatus pertaining to a housing having a front surface and a back surface, and further comprising a keyboard.
- the keyboard is configured to move between a non-deployed configuration and a deployed configuration. In the non-deployed configuration the keyboard is at least partially disposed within the housing. In the deployed configuration the keyboard is disposed substantially planar with the front surface of the housing.
- the apparatus further includes a bottom surface that also moves between a non-deployed configuration and a deployed configuration in synchronization with movement of the keyboard.
- This bottom surface is similarly disposed at least partially within the housing when in the non-deployed configuration and is substantially flush with the back surface of the housing when in the deployed configuration.
- the apparatus also comprises a tray that moves out of and into the housing by sliding along one or more guide slots that are formed internal to the housing.
- This tray can include an internal surface having a first side that contacts the keyboard when the latter is non-deployed and an opposing second side that contacts the aforementioned bottom surface when the latter is non-deployed.
- the keyboard when moving from the non-deployed configuration to the deployed configuration the keyboard first moves substantially parallel to the housing and then substantially perpendicular to the housing.
- the keyboard can have one or more projections that interact with corresponding tracks formed in the housing to direct at the least this perpendicular movement of the keyboard.
- the bottom surface can be similarly configured to behave in a similar manner
- a corresponding device such as a portable communication device can have both a small footprint when the keyboard is non-deployed while also offering a keyboard that can be readily and easily deployed when needed.
- the keyboard can be at least substantially flush with the front surface of the device to facilitate ease of use and offer an attractive aesthetic appearance.
- the underside of the device can be smooth and without substantial interruption or surface discontinuity to thereby improve the use, stability, and feel of the device.
- FIG. 1 presents a view of an apparatus 100 having a housing 101 that presents a front surface 102 and a back surface 103 .
- the apparatus 100 has a display 104 that comprises a part of that front surface 102 .
- the apparatus 100 also includes a tray 105 that is configured to slide out of and into the housing 101 .
- this tray 105 serves, in part, to at least partially contain a keyboard 200 and a corresponding bottom surface 201 .
- FIG. 2 depicts both of these components in a fully non-deployed configuration. In this configuration both of these components are nested within the apparatus 100 and, as part of this configuration, are withdrawn longitudinally within the confines of the apparatus 100 . So configured, neither the keyboard 200 nor the bottom surface 201 are visually observable from outside the apparatus 100 .
- FIG. 3 provides an enlarged view of the keyboard 200 and the bottom surface 201 in the non-deployed configuration.
- the tray 105 includes an internal surface 301 .
- this internal surface 301 comprises a rectangularly-shaped plate.
- the keyboard 200 contacts a first side of this internal surface 301 while the bottom surface 201 contacts an opposing second side of the internal surface 301 .
- FIG. 4 depicts the apparatus 100 with the tray 105 sliding forward towards a fully-opened position.
- the keyboard 200 becomes partially visible to a properly-positioned external observer.
- the keyboard 200 initially remains in contact with the aforementioned internal surface 301 as the tray 105 moves and hence the keyboard 200 moves substantially parallel to the housing 101 during this movement.
- the bottom surface 201 remains in contact with the internal surface 301 as the tray 105 slides forward toward the fully-opened position.
- FIG. 5 provides further elaboration in these regards.
- both the keyboard 200 and the bottom surface 201 are traveling in lockstep and in contact with the tray's internal surface 301 .
- the internal surface 301 moves by sliding along a guide slot 501 formed on the internal sides of the housing 101 .
- this sliding engagement can rely upon wheels (not shown) that fit within the aforementioned slots 501 and that freely rotate about axles (not shown) attached to the sides of the internal surface 301 .
- the side edges of the internal surface 301 extend into and slide along the aforementioned slots 501 .
- FIG. 5 also illustrates that the housing 101 can include tracks 502 and 503 that are also formed in the internal side walls thereof.
- both opposing side walls of the housing 101 include such tracks 502 and 503 and the tracks 502 and 503 are substantially straight and disposed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the apparatus 100 .
- these tracks 502 and 503 are formed by small flanges that extend outwardly of the housing's side walls.
- these tracks 502 and 503 comprise corresponding slots formed in the housing's side walls.
- FIG. 5 further illustrates that openings 504 and 505 are formed on both the front surface 102 and back surface 103 of the apparatus 100 as the tray 105 moves to a fully-opened position. These openings 504 and 505 occur because the keyboard 200 and the bottom surface 201 remain in a perpendicularly-withdrawn state as shown (in contact, at least for the most part, with the internal surface 301 ) as the tray 105 moves forward.
- both the keyboard 200 and the bottom surface 201 move substantially perpendicular to the housing 101 .
- both the keyboard 200 and the bottom surface 201 move substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housing 101 and in opposition to one another to both become substantially planar and flush with the front surface 102 and back surface 103 , respectively.
- this perpendicular movement of the keyboard 200 is owing, in this illustrative example, to linkage arms 506 that pivotally couple to the interior surface 301 at one end of a first arm 506 and to a rotating wheel 507 and 508 at an opposing end thereof.
- These wheels 507 and 508 connect to the keyboard 200 via corresponding axles.
- the rearward wheels 507 in turn, track and follow corresponding ones of the aforementioned tracks 502 .
- the corresponding linkage arms 506 follow accordingly to thereby move the keyboard 200 from the perpendicularly-withdrawn state shown in FIG. 5 to a fully-deployed state as shown in FIG. 7 such that the keyboard 200 becomes substantially planar with respect to the front surface 102 of the housing 101 .
- the forward wheels 508 do not follow a corresponding track. Instead, the linkage arm 506 coupled to the forward wheel 508 simply follows the perpendicular movement of the keyboard 200 as described above to provide some additional support for the keyboard 200 in the deployed configuration. If desired, however, a similar track as described above could be provided to specifically guide this forward wheel 508 as well.
- a similar construct serves to move the bottom surface 201 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housing 101 and opposite to the movement of the keyboard 200 as described above. So configured, as the tray 105 assumes a fully-withdrawn position the aforementioned openings 504 and 505 are effectively closed and filled by the keyboard 200 and bottom surface 201 , respectively. This yields an apparatus 100 having a smooth and solid feel that is both aesthetically pleasing and physically supportive of robust use of the keyboard 200 .
- the tray 105 By moving the tray 105 in a reverse direction to that described above, the foregoing components similarly reverse their movements. Accordingly, as the tray 105 closes, the keyboard 200 and bottom surface 201 withdraw perpendicularly into the tray 105 and into contact with the interior surface 301 and then move parallel to the housing 101 as the tray 105 continues sliding to a closed position.
- the keyboard 200 can include as many, or as few, keys (a few of which are denoted by reference numeral 601 ) as may be desired to meet the needs of a given application setting.
- the keyboard 200 can comprise a full QWERTY keyboard if desired.
- the apparatus 100 has a relatively small footprint when the keyboard 200 is stored in a non-deployed configuration.
- the keyboard 200 moves as described to a deployed configuration.
- the bottom surface 201 moves in synchronization with the movement of the keyboard 200 to also reach a deployed configuration.
- the openings 504 and 505 that are created by moving the tray 105 outwardly of the housing 101 become at least substantially filled by the keyboard 200 and bottom surface 201 .
- an exemplary portable electronic device includes a control circuit 802 that controls the overall operation of the portable electronic device. Communication functions, including data and voice communications, are performed through a communication subsystem 804 .
- the communication subsystem receives messages from and sends messages to a wireless network 850 .
- the wireless network 850 may be any type of wireless network, including, but not limited to, data wireless networks, voice wireless networks, and networks that support both voice and data communications.
- a power source 842 such as one or more rechargeable batteries or a port to an external power supply, powers the electronic device.
- the control circuit 802 interacts with other elements, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) 808 , a memory 810 , the aforementioned display 104 along with a touch-sensitive overlay 814 operably coupled to an electronic controller 816 that together comprise an optional touch-sensitive display 818 , the aforementioned keypad 200 , a data port 826 , a speaker 828 , a microphone 830 , a short-range communication subsystem 832 , and other device subsystems 834 of choice.
- RAM Random Access Memory
- memory 810 the aforementioned display 104
- a touch-sensitive overlay 814 operably coupled to an electronic controller 816 that together comprise an optional touch-sensitive display 818 , the aforementioned keypad 200 , a data port 826 , a speaker 828 , a microphone 830 , a short-range communication subsystem 832 , and other device subsystems 834 of choice.
- control circuit 802 also interacts with an accelerometer 836 that may be utilized to detect direction of gravitational forces or gravity-induced reaction forces.
- the portable electronic device may utilize a Subscriber Identity Module or a Removable User Identity Module (SIM/RUIM) card 838 for communication with a network, such as the wireless network 850 .
- SIM/RUIM Removable User Identity Module
- user identification information may be programmed into the memory 810 .
- the portable electronic device includes an operating system 846 and software programs, applications, or components 848 that are executed by the control circuit 802 and are typically stored in a persistent, updatable store such as the memory 810 . Additional applications or programs may be loaded onto the portable electronic device through the wireless network 850 , the data port 826 , the short-range communications subsystem 832 , or any other suitable subsystem 834 .
- the memory 810 may comprise a non-transitory storage media that stores executable code, when executed, causes one or more functions or actions of choice to be undertaken.
- control circuit 802 can be configured to automatically respond to the deployed and non-deployed state of the keyboard 200 and/or the bottom surface 201 in any of a variety of ways. As one simple example in these regards, when the keyboard 200 is fully deployed the control circuit 802 can present, via the display 104 , a user interface that presumes data entry via the keyboard 200 . When, however, the keyboard 200 is stowed in the non-deployed configuration as described above, the control circuit 802 can be configured to present instead a user interface that presumes data entry via the touch-based overlay 814 .
- one or more blocking or locking mechanisms can be provided to hold one or both of the aforementioned keyboard 200 and/or bottom surface 201 in the deployed and/or the non-deployed configurations.
Abstract
Description
Claims (15)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US13/532,113 US8724317B2 (en) | 2012-06-25 | 2012-06-25 | Apparatus pertaining to a deployable keyboard and corresponding bottom surface |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US13/532,113 US8724317B2 (en) | 2012-06-25 | 2012-06-25 | Apparatus pertaining to a deployable keyboard and corresponding bottom surface |
Publications (2)
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US20130342972A1 US20130342972A1 (en) | 2013-12-26 |
US8724317B2 true US8724317B2 (en) | 2014-05-13 |
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US13/532,113 Active 2032-07-15 US8724317B2 (en) | 2012-06-25 | 2012-06-25 | Apparatus pertaining to a deployable keyboard and corresponding bottom surface |
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Families Citing this family (1)
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TWD195159S (en) * | 2017-11-14 | 2019-01-01 | 芬蘭商赫名迪全球有限公司 | Mobile phone |
Citations (8)
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---|---|---|---|---|
US5712760A (en) * | 1996-01-26 | 1998-01-27 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Compact foldable keyboard |
US20060128449A1 (en) | 2004-12-06 | 2006-06-15 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Sliding module for sliding-type portable terminal and sliding-type portable terminal using the same |
US20070243897A1 (en) | 2006-04-18 | 2007-10-18 | Esa-Sakari Maatta | Dual level slide mechanism for extendible device housings |
WO2008074358A1 (en) | 2006-12-21 | 2008-06-26 | Nokia Corporation | A portable electronic apparatus |
US20090215507A1 (en) * | 2006-07-05 | 2009-08-27 | Laird Technologies Map Co., Ltd | A cellular phone of slide-down opening and closing type |
US7889483B2 (en) * | 2009-06-03 | 2011-02-15 | Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. | Electronic device with slidable keyboard |
US7916473B2 (en) * | 2008-06-19 | 2011-03-29 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Portable terminal |
US20110299235A1 (en) | 2010-06-08 | 2011-12-08 | Eric Liu | Fully extendable dual-segmented housing assembly for mobile computing device |
-
2012
- 2012-06-25 US US13/532,113 patent/US8724317B2/en active Active
Patent Citations (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5712760A (en) * | 1996-01-26 | 1998-01-27 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Compact foldable keyboard |
US20060128449A1 (en) | 2004-12-06 | 2006-06-15 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Sliding module for sliding-type portable terminal and sliding-type portable terminal using the same |
US20070243897A1 (en) | 2006-04-18 | 2007-10-18 | Esa-Sakari Maatta | Dual level slide mechanism for extendible device housings |
US20090215507A1 (en) * | 2006-07-05 | 2009-08-27 | Laird Technologies Map Co., Ltd | A cellular phone of slide-down opening and closing type |
WO2008074358A1 (en) | 2006-12-21 | 2008-06-26 | Nokia Corporation | A portable electronic apparatus |
US7916473B2 (en) * | 2008-06-19 | 2011-03-29 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Portable terminal |
US7889483B2 (en) * | 2009-06-03 | 2011-02-15 | Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. | Electronic device with slidable keyboard |
US20110299235A1 (en) | 2010-06-08 | 2011-12-08 | Eric Liu | Fully extendable dual-segmented housing assembly for mobile computing device |
Non-Patent Citations (2)
Title |
---|
Alonso Nogueiro, M.; Examiner; Article 94(3) EPC from related European Patent Application No. 12173381.0 dated Feb. 17, 2014; 6 pages. |
Alonso Nogueiro, M.; Examiner; Extended European Search Report from related European Patent Application No. 12173381.0 dated Feb. 13, 2013; 10 pages. |
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US20130342972A1 (en) | 2013-12-26 |
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